Archive for July, 2008

So, Mike and I will be on the internet radio show THE FIXX tomorrow night to talk about LEEDS POINT
Feel free to call in and harass us.
You can listen LIVE at http://www.burnoutmedia.com
The show starts at 6, but we won’t be on until around 7ish.
Listen in, and gives us a call. Hopefully it’ll be fun!

So, as you guys already know, I will be adapting Brian Keene’s short story The Ties That Bind into a short film in the coming months.

As a tie-in for those of you who are hardcore Keene fans (and you know who you are), we’re holding a little contest that just might put YOU in the film. As the film is pretty much a ‘for the fans, by a fan’ type of thing, I thought this would be a great way to get some of you involved in the production process, and get your own creative juices flowing.

I’m going to be getting some prop newspapers made to be used in the film. These fake newspapers will be featured prominently early on in the film, to help show just how badly the world has gone to hell. You remember that opening scene in the original Dawn Of The Dead, when the newspapers are flying around, and we catch a glimpse of headline screaming THE DEAD WALK THE EARTH? That’s how I want these newspapers to be…big, exaggerated headlines with a photograph accompanying the story.

For example, something like this:

Big headline, huge photo. Just, you know, with less tractors. And more zombies. Unless those people in the background are zombies. They might be. Who knows?

Anyway, that’s where you guys come in.

I want YOU to create the photographs.

Gather up a bunch of your buddies, deck yourselves out as zombies (and maybe even some victims), and show us the kind of carnage that is going on in the world.

Simple enough, right? I really think this is a cool way to get some of you guys involved and have some of you make a cameo in the film. Here’s a great example of the type of vibe we’re looking for in the photos:

We’ll pick the best one (or few!) and those photos will be used on the front pages of the newspapers seen in the film. If your photo is picked, I’ll even send you a copy of the newspaper so you can show all your friends how you made headline news.

As with any contest, there are rules:

–Feel free to enter as many photos as you like. The more, the merrier!

–Do it in a cemetery, do it on Main Street, do it where ever you think would work best. However, please use common sense when taking your photo. Do not do it in such a way where you can get in trouble.

–Be creative! Remember, you’re trying to capture a photo that would look good on the front page of a newspaper, so make it interesting!

–If you cannot take an actual photo, but you are artistically inclined, feel free to whip up something by hand or digitally! Just remember, do not use any copyrighted material, otherwise we can’t even consider it.

–If your photo is chosen, you (and anyone else involved in the photo) will have to sign a likeness rights form, allowing me to use the photo in the film. If you do not sign and return the form, your picture will not be used.

So, it’s been a few months. Sorry about that. Been kind of busy, you know?

Lots of cool stuff coming up in the pipeline in the next few months. In no particular order (but in list format, because I’m lazy):

– The Ties That Bind will be filmed in late September.

– Due dates for the book have been pushed back until October 1st due to a scheduling error on the publisher’s part. This works out nicely for me, as it gives me more time to round it out and fix all the rough edges.

– Freaky Fruits 2. Need I say more?

– Leeds Point is playing at a lot more festivals in the coming months. As soon as we get the screening dates and times, they will be posted here.

And finally, I’m teaching a Film class next week at Ocean County College. I did a similair thing last year for iD Tech Camps, which was a cool experience (well, the first week was. Everything after that, when they moved me to another (nazi) camp was a nightmare). This time, it’s my own course, created from scratch. It’s Mon-Fri, with two sessions each day (one for younger kids, one for older). Apparently, within a week of them announcing the class, they were filled up and had 5 kids on the waiting list. Kinda cool!

I’ve had some problems so far with the organizational structure of these classes (not my fault, but the bitching will be saved for a later post), but hopefully the classes themselves will go smoothly.

For those of you who might be taking the class, here’s a map of where our classroom will be located: